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Assault and Battery Claims and Insurance for Nightclubs

Your client probably opened their nightclub for all the right reasons. They wanted a fun place for people to come to, to dance and unwind from the tensions of the workweek, drink responsibly, and just have a really good time. But these venues are fraught with risks, not the least of which is charges of assault and battery, by other patrons, or bouncers and other staff members.

It would be a shame to have them lose their bar and everything they’ve worked so hard for due to an unfortunate incident occurring. So, as their broker, you should be sure that they have the proper insurance for nightclubs coverage in place, suggesting the specific policies that they will need.

At some point they will more than likely come across an issue where a nightclub employee (and the nightclub itself) may be found liable for personal injuries sustained by patrons on the premises. For example, in a situation where a member of the security team, or another nightclub employee, becomes involved in an altercation, the customer may wind up having a valid claim for assault. If this happens, the injured party may decide to sue the employee, as well as the nightclub.

Your client needs to be aware of what type of coverage he or she has, and the protections that it offers. There are steps that should be taken to make sure that they’re protecting their business to the fullest, as well as their staff and patrons. In this type of business it’s important to have a number of security officers or “bouncers” on the premises, with respect to the estimated number of patrons expected, based on occupancy limits.

If an incident occurs, and a claim is made, the owner should be told to immediately contact their insurance carrier. They should never attempt to handle a claim on their own, since, as you know, this could ultimately jeopardize the insurance coverage they’ve procured, since this will likely violate their contractual obligation to the carrier.

Explain to them that they should leave it to the experts who provide them with insurance for nightclubs to handle all of their claims; even those they feel are without merit.